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Metro says they have people working round the clock to figure out what caused the weekend computer glitch. Meanwhile, lawmakers speak about new federal oversight regulation for rail systems. News4's Darcy Spencer reports. (Published Monday, Jul 16, 2012)

Metro officials are working around the clock to figure out what triggered the computer glitch that forced them to halt train service on two occasions over the weekend.

The transit agency still doesn’t know what caused the software program that tracks trains to shut down, and it’s possible it could happen again.

“We are concerned and we will be after this 24-7 until we get to a root cause and, most importantly, the solution to get implemented to be sure it doesn’t happened again,” Metro Assistant General Manager Dave Kubicek said.

Kubicek told reporters that the program is not vital to the operation of the system and did not affect the signaling system that ensures adequate space between trains. Still, officials decided to stop all trains at the closest station while the computer system was rebooted. Riders were never in danger, Kubicek said.

“We felt it prudent to bring all of the rail cars to the stations; halt; make sure that we ensure everybody was safe, everybody was accounted for; and then we proceeded with our next operation plan,” he said.

That glitch is just one of several problems Metro has dealt with in recent weeks, including a derailment caused by a heat kink and a power outage that forced passengers to self-evacuate in scorching heat.

“We are fully doing everything we can to bring this place to a steady state of repair and that safety is our top priority,” Kubicek said.

Metro does not believe the problem was caused by a cyber-attack, the Associated Press reported.